Initially, I've played this game a bit, when demo was first released, and then picked it up as a "cover disc" with some videogame magazine, but haven't finished it at that time; now I've completed the GOG release. Good things: -Interesting visual style; even though the game is old, Venice is beautiful, and you get to visit various places (like Africa), -Your character is daughter of Grim Reaper himself, how cool is that? You can talk to dead people, find treasure maps, break into locked chests with the help of ghosts, and if killed - you can come back from the "Twilight World" to deliver deadly blow on your enemy from behind, -There are multiple outcomes and endings, depending on your actions; game has Reputation system and some actions are considered Honorable, while some are Villainous, -Combat can be satisfying, if wonky (more about that below) Bad things: -Game can CTD all of a sudden. It didn't happen to me "all the time", just a couple of times, but you better save often, especially when leaving some room or house and transiting into larger map, -You can perform sequences of hits in a combat, but it's not contextual, meaning Scarlett will NOT auto-target other enemies with her next hit, even when previous enemy is already dead, -When mobbed by enemies, it's easy to get stun-locked, with no way to retaliate. Rolling to avoid hits is also all over the place - Scarlett will often roll right under the swords of enemies, instead of getting away... - Journal and map markers are...not helpful. There's virtually no hand-holding (which is good), but often you will find yourself confused as to what to do next, since the game often won't update markers and journal entries (by design, not because of bugs) - you have to figure out your next step all by yourself, -Game really doesn't like Alt-Tabbing; sometimes you switch to browser to find help on wiki, and when you get back it's all right, but most of the time the game will freeze. Save often. Overall, recommended.
I wanted to play this game since it was console exclusive, now thanks to GOG I can play it on PC with DLC and DRM free. Obviously it's not a game for everyone, there are some bad reviews out there and it's OK - you can't please everybody, it's natural. Let's get to some "pros and cons". Con: The whole game seems like compilation of well known mechanics from other games (climbing Tallnecks like climbing towers in FarCry, also hunting animals to craft ammo pouches JUST like in FarCry, following highlighted paths to solve some mysteries like in Witcher 3 et c.) Pro: ...but it is done quite well and fits the game. Personally, I don't care if the mechanics were copied from other games, as long as they WORK. And for the most part, they work well here. Con: Potentially, there's a lot of grind. Pro: But some of it is optional, if you don't care for achievements or 100% completion. Most importantly, I've never really felt bored when gathering herbs, hunting animals or scavenging machine parts, something I can't say about grinding in FarCry or Borderlands, for example. Con: Much like Deus Ex: Human Revolution, you are free to choose your battles and the way you conduct them, yet the game clearly rewards you more, when you try to be "sneaky". Personally, I HATE SNEAKING, mostly because majority of games can't get it right. Pro: But also just like in DE: HR, this element is done reasonably well. After some time you get used to the fact, that "RED GRASS"="SNEAKING". "Horizon" is one of very few games, where sneaking doesn't frustrate me. Con: The current "woke" political agenda is present even here... Pro: But it's not a noisy preaching like in some other unnamed games, so it never really bothered me. It's not "in your face", and it doesn't ruin the overall game world atmosphere. Con: Witnessing the full visual glory of the game may require quite powerful rig. Pro: I've never had CTD even once, and the details are astonishing. Overall - recommended, but decide yourself.
